Vehicle for carrying containers

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to vehicle technology, and more particularly, to a vehicle for carrying a container. The vehicle includes: a vehicle body, at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body and a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state. Each of the at least one locking mechanism is connected fixedly to the container when the locking mechanism is in the locked state, such that the container is fixed to the vehicle body. The vehicle is advantageous in that it is capable of locking and unlocking the container in a simple way, thereby improving the efficiency of the vehicle in transportation of the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This U.S. Patent document claims the priority of and the benefits ofChinese Patent Application No. 201810174846.5 of the same title andcontent that was filed by Applicant Beijing Tusen Weilai Technology Co.,Ltd. at the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) on Mar.2, 2018, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to vehicle technology, and moreparticularly, to a vehicle for carrying a container.

BACKGROUND

With the prosperous development of the global economy and trade,logistics has become more and more important, which has effectivelypromoted the vigorous development of the container transportationbusiness. In places where many containers are stacked, such as ports ordocks, vehicles for carrying containers become the main transportationequipment. Therefore, in order to improve the overall operationefficiency and utilization of such ports or docks, it is desired toimprove the transportation efficiency of the vehicles. However,conventional locking structures for containers in vehicles arecomplicated and inconvenient to lock and unlock, resulting in a lowefficiency in vehicle transportation.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a vehicle for carrying a container,capable of locking and unlocking the container in a simple way, therebyimproving the efficiency of the vehicle in transportation of thecontainer.

In order to achieve the above object, the following solutions areprovided according to the present disclosure.

A vehicle for carrying a container is provided. The vehicle includes avehicle body on which a container is placed. The vehicle furtherincludes at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body anda microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at leastone locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least onelocking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlockedstate. When the locking mechanism is in the locked state, each of the atleast one locking mechanism is connected fixedly to the container, suchthat the container is fixed to the vehicle body. When each of the atleast one locking mechanism is in the unlocked state, the container,when having an external force acting thereon, is movable with respect tothe vehicle body.

Preferably, the vehicle may further include a pressure detectionmechanism provided on the vehicle body and communicatively connected tothe microcontroller unit. The pressure detection mechanism may beconfigured to detect a value of a pressure applied by the container onthe vehicle body and input a signal indicating the detected value of thepressure to the microcontroller unit. When the value of the pressure asdetected by the pressure detection mechanism is larger than apredetermined value, the microcontroller unit may control each of the atleast one locking mechanism to act to switch from the unlocked state tothe locked state.

Preferably, each of the at least one locking mechanism may include ahousing mounted to the vehicle body, a lock protruding from a top of thehousing, a lock lever connected fixedly to the lock and mounted to thehousing in such a manner that the lock lever is rotatable about itsaxis, and a driving component for driving the lock lever to rotate. Thedriving component may be communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit and configured to act based on an output signalreceived from the microcontroller unit to drive the lock lever to rotateby a predetermined angle such that the lock may lock and unlock thecontainer.

Preferably, each of the at least one locking mechanism may furtherinclude a first photoelectric switch and a second photoelectric switcheach mounted to the housing, and a block sheet mounted to the locklever. Each of the first photoelectric switch and the secondphotoelectric switch may be communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit and configured to input a switching signal to themicrocontroller unit. When the microcontroller unit controls the lockingmechanism to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, thedriving component may drive the lock lever to rotate by a predeterminedangle in a first direction, such that the block sheet is at a positioncorresponding to the first photoelectric switch and the firstphotoelectric switch transmits a locking signal to the microcontrollerunit. When the microcontroller unit controls the locking mechanism toswitch from the locked state to the unlocked state, the drivingcomponent may drive the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle ina second direction opposite to the first direction, such that the blocksheet is at a position corresponding to the second photoelectric switchand the second photoelectric switch transmits an unlocking signal to themicrocontroller unit.

Preferably, each of the at least one locking mechanism may furtherinclude a transmission component connected transmissively between thedriving component and the lock lever.

Preferably, the transmission component may include a worm-gearcomponent, a gear transmission component or a threaded transmissioncomponent.

Preferably, the driving component may include a stepper motor.

Preferably, the vehicle may further include a plurality of guidingblocks mounted to the vehicle body and configured to locate thecontainer such that the container is aligned with each of the at leastone locking mechanism.

Preferably, the vehicle may further include a distance detection unitand an electronic control unit each communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit. The electronic control unit may be configured toautomatically control the vehicle to enable automated driving of thevehicle. The distance detection unit may be configured to detect adistance between the container and the vehicle body in a verticaldirection and transmit a value of the detected distance to themicrocontroller unit, such that when the value of the distance detectedby the distance detection unit is larger than a predetermined distance,the microcontroller unit transmits a movement signal to the electroniccontrol unit and the electronic control unit controls the vehicle tomove based on the movement signal received from the microcontrollerunit.

Preferably, the predetermined angle may be 90°.

Preferably, the distance detection unit may include an ultrasonicsensor.

When compared with the related art, the present disclosure has thefollowing advantageous effects. With the vehicle for carrying acontainer according to the present disclosure, at least one lockingmechanism may fix the container to the vehicle body. Under control of amicrocontroller unit, the locking mechanism may lock and unlock thecontainer on the vehicle body. When the above vehicle is used forcarrying or transportation of the container, the processes for lockingand unlocking the container may be simplified by cooperation of themicrocontroller unit and the locking mechanism. Thus, the locking andunlocking of the container may be automated, such that the time requiredfor locking the container to the vehicle body and unlocking thecontainer from the vehicle body may be shortened. That is, theefficiency in locking/unlocking the container to/from the vehicle bodymay be improved and the time required for loading/offloading thecontainer to/from the vehicle may be shortened. Accordingly, the vehicleis advantageous in that it is capable of locking and unlocking thecontainer in a simple way, thereby improving the efficiency of thevehicle in transportation of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a vehicle forcarrying a container according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an operating principle of avehicle for carrying a container according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an explosive view showing a structure of a locking mechanismin the vehicle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the locking mechanism shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of the lockingmechanism shown in FIG. 3 in direction A when it is in an unlockedstate; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of the lockingmechanism shown in FIG. 3 in direction A when it is in a locked state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following, the solutions according to the embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described clearly and completely withreference to the figures, such that the solutions can be betterunderstood by those skilled in the art. Obviously, the embodimentsdescribed below are only some, rather than all, of the embodiments ofthe present disclosure. All other embodiments that can be obtained bythose skilled in the art based on the embodiments described in thepresent disclosure without any inventive efforts are to be encompassedby the scope of the present disclosure.

A vehicle for carrying a container is provided according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. A locking mechanism of the vehicle may switchbetween a locked state and an unlocked state under control of amicrocontroller unit. When the above vehicle is used for carrying ortransportation of a container, the processes for locking and unlockingthe container may be simplified i.e., the locking and unlocking of thecontainer may be automated. Accordingly, the vehicle is advantageous inthat it is capable of locking and unlocking the container in a simpleway, thereby improving the efficiency of the vehicle in transportationof the container. The above vehicle may be an unmanned vehicle, anordinary truck driven by a driver, or a rail vehicle carrying acontainer.

Here, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a vehicle 1 for carrying acontainer is provided according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 11 on which acontainer is placed. The vehicle body 11 as shown in FIG. 1 has aflat-plate structure. Alternatively, the vehicle body 11 may havesurrounding sideboards, or have a structure matching a specificcontainer. The structure of the vehicle body 11 is not limited to theone shown in FIG. 1.

The above vehicle 1 further includes at least one locking mechanism 12provided on the vehicle body 11 and a microcontroller unit 13communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism12. As shown in the structure of FIG. 1, one locking mechanism 12 isprovided at each of four corners of the vehicle body 11. Each of thefour locking mechanisms 12 is communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit 13, such that the microcontroller unit 13 maycontrol the locking mechanisms 12. In order to lock the container to thevehicle body 11 reliably, one, two, three, four or more lockingmechanisms 12 may be provided on the vehicle body 11 (the presentdisclosure is not limited to four locking mechanisms provided in thestructure shown in FIG. 1). When a plurality of locking mechanisms 12 isprovided, their respective positions and arrangement may be configuredflexibly. The Microcontroller Unit (MCU) is also referred to as SingleChip Microcomputer or Single Chip Machine.

The microcontroller unit 13 is configured to control each lockingmechanism 12 to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state.

Here, each locking mechanism 12 is connected fixedly to the containerwhen the locking mechanism 12 is in the locked state, such that thecontainer is fixed to the vehicle body 11.

When each locking mechanism 12 is in the unlocked state, the container,when having an external force acting thereon, is movable with respect tothe vehicle body 11.

For the vehicle 1 according to the embodiments of the present disclosureto carry a container, hoisting equipment such as a crane places thecontainer on the vehicle body 11, with each locking mechanism 12 alignedwith a lock hole provided on the container. The microcontroller unit 13controls each locking mechanism 12 to switch from the unlocked state tothe locked state, such that the locking mechanisms 12 may lock thecontainer to the vehicle body 11, i.e., the container is fixed to thevehicle body 11. In order to offload the container from the vehicle body11, first the microcontroller unit 13 may control each locking mechanism12 to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state, and thenhoisting equipment such as a crane may hoist the container away from thevehicle body 11, thereby completing transportation of the container.

Under control of the microcontroller unit 13, the locking mechanisms 12of the vehicle 1 may lock and unlock the container placed on the vehiclebody 11. Thus, when the above vehicle 11 is used for carrying ortransportation of the container, the processes for locking and unlockingthe container may be simplified by cooperation of the microcontrollerunit 13 and the locking mechanisms 12. Thus, the locking and unlockingof the container may be automated, such that the time required forlocking the container to the vehicle body 11 and unlocking the containerfrom the vehicle body 11 may be shortened. That is, the efficiency inlocking/unlocking the container to/from the vehicle body 11 may beimproved and the time required for loading/offloading the containerto/from the above vehicle 1 may be shortened.

To summarize, the vehicle 1 is advantageous in that it is capable oflocking and unlocking the container in a simple way, thereby improvingthe efficiency of the vehicle 1 in transportation of the container.

In a particular implementation, as shown in the structure of FIG. 1, theabove vehicle 1 may further include a pressure detection mechanism 14provided on the vehicle body 11 and communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit 13. As shown in the structure of FIG. 1, a pressuredetection mechanism 14 is provided at a central position of the vehiclebody 11. One, two, three or more pressure detection mechanisms 14 may beprovided on the vehicle body 11.

The pressure detection mechanism 14 may be any detection mechanismcapable of detecting a pressure, such as a pressure sensor, a gravitysensor or a weight sensor. In particular, the pressure sensor may be apiezoelectric pressure sensor, a piezoresistive pressure sensor, asapphire pressure sensor or the like, and the weight sensor may be aphotoelectric weight sensor, a capacitive weight sensor, a hydraulicweight sensor, a vibration weight sensor, a gyro weight sensor or thelike.

The pressure detection mechanism 14 is configured to detect a value of apressure applied by the container on the vehicle body 11 and input asignal indicating the detected value of the pressure to themicrocontroller unit 13.

When the value of the pressure as detected by the pressure detectionmechanism 14 is larger than a predetermined value, the microcontrollerunit 13 controls the locking mechanisms 12 to act to switch from theunlocked state to the locked state.

As shown in the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2, when the container is beinghoisted by hoisting equipment, such as a crane, to approach the vehiclebody 11 or onto the vehicle body 11, the weight of the container isapplied to the pressure detection mechanism 14. The pressure applied bythe container may be detected by the pressure detection mechanism 14,which inputs the signal indicating the detected value of the pressure tothe microcontroller unit 13. The microcontroller unit 13 controls thelocking mechanisms 12 to act based on the received signal indicating thevalue of the pressure. When the received value of the pressure is largerthan the predetermined value, indicating that the container is in place,the microcontroller unit 13 controls the locking mechanisms 12 to enterthe locked state, such that the locking mechanisms 12 may fix thecontainer to the vehicle body 11, in order for the vehicle 1 to carrythe container.

With the above vehicle 1, the pressure detection mechanism 14 may detectthe pressure signal for the container, and then the microcontroller unit13 may determine whether the container is on the vehicle body 11 bycomparing the value of the pressure with the predetermined value,thereby achieving automatic control of the locking mechanisms 12. Inthis way, both manpower and time may be saved and the operatingefficiency of the vehicle 1 may be improved.

In particular, as shown in the structures of FIGS. 3 and 4, each lockingmechanism 12 may include a housing 121 mounted to the vehicle body 11, alock 122 protruding from a top of the housing 121, a lock lever 123connected fixedly to the lock 122 and mounted to the housing 121 in sucha manner that the lock lever 123 is rotatable about its axis, and adriving component 124 for driving the lock lever 123 to rotate. As shownin the structure of FIG. 3, each locking mechanism 12 may furtherinclude a transmission component 125 connected transmissively to thedriving component 124. The driving component 124 may drive the locklever 123 to rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise via the transmissioncomponent 125. Alternatively, the driving component 124 may directlydrive the lock lever 123 to rotate. As shown in the structure of FIG. 5,in this case the locking mechanism 12 is in the unlocked state. When thelock lever 123 rotates clockwise or counter-clockwise as driven by thedriving component 124, i.e., when the lock 122 rotates from the positionshown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 6, the locking mechanism12 switches from the unlocked state to the locked state.

The driving component 124 is communicatively connected to themicrocontroller unit 13 and configured to act based on an output signalreceived from the microcontroller unit 13 to drive the lock lever 123 torotate by a predetermined angle such that the lock 122 may lock andunlock the container. As shown in the structures of FIGS. 5 and 6, thepredetermined angle may be 90° or 270°. Alternatively, it may be set asany angle, not limited to 90° or 270°, depending on actual situations.

With the above vehicle 1, the microcontroller unit 13 may control thedriving component 124 to allow the lock lever 123 of the lockingmechanism 12 to rotate with the lock 122, so as to achieve automaticlocking and unlocking of the container and, in turn, automatedlocking/unlocking of the container to/from the vehicle 1. Thisfacilitates unmanned operation and automated loading/offloading of acontainer to/from an unmanned vehicle carrying the container.

In order to improve the accuracy of the automated operations of thevehicle 1, as shown in the structures of FIGS. 3 and 4, the lockingmechanism 12 may further include a first photoelectric switch 127 and asecond photoelectric switch 128 each mounted to the housing 121, and ablock sheet 129 mounted to the lock lever 123. Each of the firstphotoelectric switch 127 and the second photoelectric switch 128 iscommunicatively connected to the microcontroller unit 13 and configuredto input a switching signal to the microcontroller unit 13. In practice,they may be configured depending on actual situations. For example, inFIG. 4, the locking mechanism 12 may be in the unlocked state when theblock sheet 129 is at a position corresponding to the secondphotoelectric switch 128, or in the locked state when the block sheet129 is at a position corresponding to the first photoelectric switch127.

When the microcontroller unit 13 controls the locking mechanism 12 toswitch from the unlocked state to the locked state, the drivingcomponent 124 drives the lock lever 123 to rotate by a predeterminedangle in a first direction, such that the block sheet 129 is at aposition corresponding to the first photoelectric switch 127 and thefirst photoelectric switch 127 transmits a locking signal to themicrocontroller unit 13. Here, the first direction may be a clockwisedirection or a counter-clockwise direction.

When the microcontroller unit 13 controls the locking mechanism 12 toswitch from the locked state to the unlocked state, the drivingcomponent 124 drives the lock lever 123 to rotate by a predeterminedangle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, such thatthe block sheet 129 is at a position corresponding to the secondphotoelectric switch 128 and the second photoelectric switch 128transmits an unlocking signal to the microcontroller unit 13. The seconddirection may be a counter-clockwise direction or a clockwise direction,corresponding to the above first direction.

With the above vehicle 1, the locking mechanism 12 is provided with thefirst photoelectric switch 127 and the second photoelectric switch 128,as well as the block sheet 129 provided on the lock lever 123. Thus,when the driving component 124 drives the lock lever 123 to rotate, theblock sheet 129 rotates with the lock lever 123. When the block sheet129 rotates to the position corresponding to the first photoelectricswitch 127, the block sheet 129 blocks the first photoelectric switch127, such that the first photoelectric switch 127 generates anelectrical signal and transmits the locking signal to themicrocontroller unit 13. As shown in the structure of FIG. 3, the lock122 rotates to a locked position. When the block sheet 129 rotates, asdriven by the driving component 124, to the position corresponding tothe second photoelectric switch 128, it blocks the second photoelectricswitch 128, such that the second photoelectric switch 128 generates anelectrical signal and transmits the unlocking signal to themicrocontroller unit 13. As shown in the structure of FIG. 4, the lock122 rotates exactly to an unlocked position. With the locking signal orunlocking signal generated by the first photoelectric switch 127, thesecond photoelectric switch 128 and the block sheet 129, the state ofthe locking mechanism 12 may be further determined, such that themicrocontroller unit 13 may control the locking mechanism 12 accurately,and in turn control the vehicle 1 more accurately, thereby avoidingfaulty operations.

In order to increase the driving torque, as shown in the structures ofFIGS. 3 and 4, the locking mechanism 12 may further include atransmission component 125 connected transmissively between the drivingcomponent 124 and the lock lever 123. The transmission component 125 maybe a worm-gear component, a gear transmission component or a threadedtransmission component. As shown in the structure of FIG. 4, thetransmission component 125 is a worm-gear transmission component andincludes a transmission component housing 1251 within the housing 121, aworm 1252 transmissively connected to the driving component 124, and aworm gear 1253 engaged with the worm 1252. The worm gear 1253 isco-axial with and connected to the lock lever 123 by means of key joint.The driving force applied by the driving component 124 is transmitted tothe lock lever 123 via the worm 1252 and the worm gear 1253, driving thelock 122 to lock and unlock the locking mechanism 12.

The above driving component 124 may be an electric motor such as astepper motor, a Direct Current (DC) motor, a variable frequency motor,or the like.

In order to improve the alignment accuracy and locating efficiency inhoisting of the container, the above vehicle 1 may further include aplurality of guiding blocks 15 mounted to the vehicle body 11 andconfigured to locate the container such that the container is alignedwith each of the locking mechanisms 12. As shown in the structure ofFIG. 1, the plurality of guiding blocks 15 may be stop plates providedat four corners of the vehicle body 11, respectively, or may be otherstructures, e.g., stop blocks, provided at other positions of thevehicle body 11. With the guiding blocks 15, the container may bealigned with the locking mechanisms 12 rapidly, so as to avoid waste oftime and reduced transportation efficiency of the vehicle 1 due tomisalignment between the container and the locking mechanisms 12.

In order to improve the automation and utilization of the above vehicle1, as shown in the structure of FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 may furtherinclude a distance detection unit 16 and an Electronic Control Unit(ECU) 17 each communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit 13.The ECU is also referred to as “driving computer” or “on-boardcomputer”. The distance detection unit 16 may be an optical sensor, aninfrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor or the like.

The electronic control unit 17 is configured to automatically controlthe vehicle 1 to enable automated driving of the vehicle 1.

The distance detection unit 16 is configured to detect a distancebetween the container and the vehicle body 11 in a vertical directionand transmit a value of the detected distance to the microcontrollerunit 13, such that when the value of the distance detected by thedistance detection unit 16 is larger than a predetermined distance, themicrocontroller unit 13 transmits a movement signal to the electroniccontrol unit 17 and the electronic control unit 17 controls the vehicle1 to move based on the movement signal received from the microcontrollerunit 13.

When the container is offloaded from the vehicle 1, the distancedetection unit 16 may detect the distance between the vehicle body 11and the container. When the distance between the vehicle body 11 and thecontainer is larger than the predetermined distance, the microcontrollerunit 13 may determine that the container will not affect movement of thevehicle 1 and may thus transmit a signal to the electronic control unit17 which may then control the vehicle to move. Accordingly, thecooperation of the distance detection unit 16 and the electronic controlunit 17 allows automated driving of the vehicle 1, such that the vehicle1 may be fully utilized and the transportation efficiency andutilization of the vehicle 1 may be improved.

The above vehicle may be an unmanned vehicle, an ordinary truck or railvehicle, or an unmanned rail vehicle.

Obviously, various modifications and variants can be made to the presentdisclosure by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, these modifications andvariants are to be encompassed by the present disclosure if they fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle for carrying a container, comprising: a vehicle body on which a container is placed; at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body; a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state; and a pressure detection mechanism provided on the vehicle body and communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, wherein: the pressure detection mechanism is configured to detect a value of a pressure applied by the container on the vehicle body and input a signal indicating the detected value of the pressure to the microcontroller unit, the microcontroller unit is further configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to act to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, in response to the value of the pressure as detected by the pressure detection mechanism being larger than a predetermined value, and each of the at least one locking mechanism is configured to: fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism comprises a housing mounted to the vehicle body, a lock protruding from a top of the housing, a lock lever connected fixedly to the lock and mounted to the housing in such a manner that the lock lever is rotatable about its axis, and a driving component for driving the lock lever to rotate, and the driving component is communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to act based on an output signal received from the microcontroller unit to drive the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle such that the lock can lock and unlock the container.
 3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a first photoelectric switch and a second photoelectric switch each mounted to the housing, and a block sheet mounted to the lock lever, each of the first photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch being communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to input a switching signal to the microcontroller unit, when the microcontroller unit controls the locking mechanism to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, the driving component drives the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a first direction, such that the block sheet is at a position corresponding to the first photoelectric switch and the first photoelectric switch transmits a locking signal to the microcontroller unit, and when the microcontroller unit controls the locking mechanism to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state, the driving component drives the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, such that the block sheet is at a position corresponding to the second photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch transmits an unlocking signal to the microcontroller unit.
 4. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a transmission component connected transmissively between the driving component and the lock lever.
 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the transmission component comprises a worm-gear component, a gear transmission component or a threaded transmission component.
 6. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the driving component comprises a stepper motor.
 7. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of guiding blocks mounted to the vehicle body and configured to locate the container such that the container is aligned with each of the at least one locking mechanism.
 8. A vehicle for carrying a container, comprising: a vehicle body on which a container is placed; at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body; a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state; a distance detection unit communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit; and an electronic control unit communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, wherein: the electronic control unit is configured to automatically control the vehicle to enable automated driving of the vehicle, the distance detection unit is configured to detect a distance between the container and the vehicle body in a vertical direction and transmit a value of the detected distance to the microcontroller unit, the microcontroller unit is further configured to transmit a movement signal to the electronic control unit, in response to the value of the distance detected by the distance detection unit being larger than a predetermined distance, the electronic control unit is further configured to control the vehicle to move based on the movement signal received from the microcontroller unit, the at least one locking mechanism is configured to: fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state.
 9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the distance detection unit comprises an ultrasonic sensor.
 10. A method for operating a vehicle for carrying a container, the vehicle comprising: a vehicle body on which a container is placed; at least one locking mechanism provided on the vehicle body; a microcontroller unit communicatively connected to each of the at least one locking mechanism and configured to control each of the at least one locking mechanism to switch between a locked state and an unlocked state; and a pressure detection mechanism provided on the vehicle body and communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, the at least one locking mechanism is configured to: fix the container to the vehicle body in response to the locking mechanism being in the locked state, and allow the container, when having an external force acting thereon, to be moved with respect to the vehicle body in response to each of the at least one locking mechanism being in the unlocked state, the method comprising: detecting, by the pressure detection mechanism, a value of a pressure applied by the container on the vehicle body, transmitting, by the pressure detection mechanism, a signal indicating the detected value of the pressure to the microcontroller unit, controlling, by the microcontroller unit, each of the at least one locking mechanism to act to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, in response to the value of the pressure as detected by the pressure detection mechanism being larger than a predetermined value.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism comprises a housing mounted to the vehicle body, a lock protruding from a top of the housing, a lock lever connected fixedly to the lock and mounted to the housing in such a manner that the lock lever is rotatable about its axis, and a driving component for driving the lock lever to rotate, and the driving component is communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, the method further comprising: driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle based on an output signal received from the microcontroller unit.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a first photoelectric switch and a second photoelectric switch each mounted to the housing, and a block sheet mounted to the lock lever, each of the first photoelectric switch and the second photoelectric switch being communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit and configured to input a switching signal to the microcontroller unit, the method further comprising: driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a first direction, in response to the microcontroller unit controlling the locking mechanism to switch from the unlocked state to the locked state, transmitting, by the first photoelectric switch, a locking signal to the microcontroller unit, in response to the block sheet being rotated to a position corresponding to the first photoelectric switch, and driving, by the driving component, the lock lever to rotate by a predetermined angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, in response to the microcontroller unit controlling the locking mechanism to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state, transmitting, by the second photoelectric switch, an unlocking signal to the microcontroller unit, in response to the block sheet is rotated to a position corresponding to the second photoelectric switch.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one locking mechanism further comprises a transmission component connected transmissively between the driving component and the lock lever.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the transmission component comprises a worm-gear component, a gear transmission component or a threaded transmission component.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the driving component comprises a stepper motor.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicle further comprises a plurality of guiding blocks mounted to the vehicle body and configured to locate the container such that the container is aligned with each of the at least one locking mechanism.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle further comprises a distance detection unit and an electronic control unit each communicatively connected to the microcontroller unit, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to automatically control the vehicle to enable automated driving of the vehicle, the method further comprising: detecting, by the distance detection unit, a distance between the container and the vehicle body in a vertical direction, transmitting, by the distance detection unit, a value of the detected distance to the microcontroller unit, transmitting, by the microcontroller unit, a movement signal to the electronic control unit in response to the value of the distance detected by the distance detection unit being larger than a predetermined distance, controlling, by the electronic control unit, the vehicle to move based on the movement signal received from the microcontroller unit.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the distance detection unit comprises an ultrasonic sensor. 